Krugman's Cockroaches

NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

[governsleastgovernsbest]

In the wake of the Dem victory of November, Paul Krugman isn't merely doing a victory dance. He reminds me more of one of those ardent football fans up in the stands after his team scores the winning touchdown. Stripped to the waist, painted in team colors, getting up in the face of an opposing fan to taunt "na-na-na-na, goodbye" followed by a rousing chorus of "start the bus."

In his pay-per-view opus of this morning, "A Failed Revolution," Krugman proclaims that not merely has the Republican revolution of 1994 failed, but that it "was always based on a lie."

Just what is that lie? According to Krugman it was the belief expressed by Dick Armey at the time that: "most government programs don’t do anything 'to help American families with the needs of everyday life . . . and very few American families would notice their disappearance."

And how does Krugman prove that Armey was lying? By noting that "more than a few families would notice the disappearance of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid." No doubt. There's only one problem. Republicans never called for the abolition of any of those programs. So who's lying now?

After hurling some more invective Republicans' way - "utter failure," "failed revolutionary" movement, "web of corruption," "adversaries . . . harassed with smear campaigns and witch hunts," Krugman closes with this charming little analogy:

"Is that the end for the radical right? Probably not. As a long-suffering civil servant once told me, bad policy ideas are like cockroaches: you can flush them down the toilet, but they keep coming back."

Sore winner.

Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net

[Mo1]

Do you like to post to prove just how stupid you are?

[MurryMom]

...benefits will have to be cut by a quarter or thereabouts...

If SS benefits will have to be cut by a quarter or thereabouts, some Republican politicians should propose such action as part of their 2008 platform. How many seats in the House and Senate will be changed from D to R as a result of their adoption of the "quarter or thereabouts SS check reduction" plan?

[Toddsterpatriot]

The trust fund is not funded by any gold or other hard assets

You mean like private accounts holding stocks and bonds? That's a great idea!

[dighton]

... former Enron advisor Paul Krugman?

That should be required in all press references, to balance their mandatory decorated Vietnam veteran John Kerry.

[sauropod]

Neoconservativism is a term used by Iring Kristol and other Republcans to describe their system of political beliefs having much in common with fascism.

Back it up.

Define fascism. Define neoconservatism.

I bet you can't.

[Toddsterpatriot]

If SS benefits will have to be cut by a quarter or thereabouts, some Republican politicians should propose such action as part of their 2008 platform.

No need to propose anything. Lack of action, guaranteed by Democratic refusal to reform SS, will bring it about automatically.

[MurryMom]

Yes I can. All you need to do is access one or more of the following references, or look up the term on wikipedia.org.

Leo Strauss and the Politics of American Empire by Anne Norton (Paperback - Oct 11, 2005)

Leo Strauss and the American Right by Shadia B. Drury (Paperback - Feb 15, 1999)

The leading neocon organization besides the Repbulican Party is The Project for the New American Century, with a website at:

http://www.newamericancentury.org/lettersstatements.htm

[MurryMom]

You mean like private accounts holding stocks and bonds?

Disregarding the sarcasm and cynicism in your post, we can expect that bonds in the SS fund will be backed up by stocks and/or bonds about the same time that bonds held by banks in Russia, China, India, Venezuela, et al., are backed up by hard assets like stocks.

IOW, never.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Disregarding the sarcasm and cynicism in your post, we can expect that bonds in the SS fund will be backed up by stocks and/or bonds about the same time that bonds held by banks in Russia, China, India, Venezuela, et al., are backed up by hard assets like stocks.

You misunderstand. If private accounts held stocks and bonds, there would be no need for bonds to be held in the SS fund.

[sphinx]

If SS benefits will have to be cut by a quarter or thereabouts, some Republican politicians should propose such action as part of their 2008 platform. How many seats in the House and Senate will be changed from D to R as a result of their adoption of the "quarter or thereabouts SS check reduction" plan?

Why should a Republican propose the democrats' bitter medicine? Benefit cuts and higher taxes are the dem plan. The Republican approach avoids most of the pain. Yes, there will be costs to finance the transition to investment accounts, but these are far less than the eventual costs of doing nothing.

I do not want to attribute motives to you, but clearly the democrats are playing hidden agenda politics on the issue. Why would they prefer lower to higher benefits and higher to lower taxes? It is crazy unless retirement security is secondary to other goals. I am driven to the conclusion that democrats want people dependent on a government program. They would rather have retirees poor and dependent than financially indendent and therefore more likely to vote Republican. SS is simply a way to organize and discipline their base vote.

I also suspect that the hard-left types desperately want to avoid moving all Americans into the owner/investor class, even on a small scale. Socialist and anti-corporate tub-thumping will lose most of its appeal when the wrench turners and bus drivers start checking their accounts every morning. The fascist left doesn't want broad-based ownership of wealth; it wants government ownership of wealth.

[Nuc1]

As a proud cockroach I must say that in the end we will take over the world.

[jurroppi1]

IBTZ?

[hosepipe]

[ By noting that "more than a few families would notice the disappearance of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid." No doubt. There's only one problem. Republicans never called for the abolition of any of those programs. So who's lying now? ]

IF the democrats sunset-ed the Social Security System(SSA) which is PURE socialism... PURE socialism.. Most republicans would gouge out their EYES.. throw dust in the air.. and rip their clothing.. and get all compassionate...

So much for anti-socialist republicans..

[Lee'sGhost]

Who is Paul Krugman?

[Lee'sGhost]

MurryMom! Where have you been? Back off your meds, I see.

[aculeus]

SS fund

Funnee! Someone actually believes there's something called a "SS fund">

[Lee'sGhost]

"Isn't "neocon" a code word for "Jew"?"

I think that's what it means this week. I'm not sure. It seems to change almost monthly. At this point it means nothing. I believe neoCOMs (liberals/Communists) like to use because it sounds similar to neo-nazi.

[litehaus]

"it consists of U.S. Govt. I.O.U's backd up by nothing."

And how far could you or I get at the bank keeping books like that?........Not many folks recall LBJ covering his a$$ ( and DEM spending) by combining the 'budgets.'

[Jimmy Valentine]

There is going to be a day of reckoning for all of this.

Won't be pleasant that is for sure.

[MurryMom]

Neoconservatism is a political movement, mainly in the United States, which is generally held to have emerged in the 1960s, coalesced in the 1970s, and has had a significant presence in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

The prefix neo- refers to two ways in which neoconservatism was new. First, many of the movement's founders, originally liberals, Democrats or from socialist backgrounds, were new to conservatism. Also, neoconservatism was a comparatively recent strain of conservative socio-political thought. It derived from a variety of intellectual roots in the decades following World War II, including literary criticism and the social sciences.

Irving Kristol, Norman Podhoretz and others described themselves as neoconservatives during the Cold War. In general, however, the movement's critics use the term more often than supporters. In fact, some people described as "neocons" today say that neoconservatism no longer exists as an identifiable movement.

Many associate neoconservatism with periodicals such as Commentary and The Weekly Standard, along with the foreign policy initiatives of think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the Project for the New American Century (PNAC). Neoconservative journalists, pundits, policy analysts, and politicians, often dubbed "neocons" by supporters and critics alike, have been credited with (or blamed for) their influence on U.S. foreign policy, especially under the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

More details here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservativism